These Ain't Your Mama's Cloth Diapers...

When I told people that I was going to start using cloth diapers with my son, many of them were surprised. Why would I want to go back to the hassle of cloth diapers, pins, plastic covers?? Cloth diapers have come a long way and these sure aren't my mama's cloth diapers!! They are very similiar in design to disposable diapers and ease of use. There are lots of different varities and costs involved with cloth diapers, but I recommend that them to anyone who has kids or will be having them. Here's a link to explain the different varieties: http://nickisdiapers.com/pages/DiaperDefinitions.php

I am currently using pocket diapers, called Fuzzi Bunz, with my son:
http://nickisdiapers.com/catalog.php?category=70 Benefits for these are they dry quicker and are slimmer. I am also planning to buy the Bumkins, which are cotton and are in the all-in-one (AIO) category. These can take longer to dry, but are easier to use and I like the thought of him wearing a natural fiber: cotton.

They do seem like a huge cost initially and that is what originally kept me from buying them, but after seeing how many disposable diapers my son goes through in even a week's period, I've changed my mind!!! Still not convinced?? "Your baby will go through about 8 -12 diapers a day ~ or about 9000 diaper changes by the time he/she is potty trained. At $0.24 a diaper, that adds up to about $2,160! Disposable wipes will cost at least another $600-800. In contrast, purchasing your own cloth diapers and cloth wipes to wash them at home will cost somewhere between $250 and $750. Considering your laundering costs (about $.50 a load or $120 over the course of 30 months) you will still save about $2,000 - $2,500 over an average 2.5 year period! And if you reuse your diapers over multiple babies, you can multiply this savings!" Info from: http://www.babycottonbottoms.com/cloth_vs_disposable.htm

Since I have switched to using cloth diaper and cloth wipes, my son has not had any problems with diaper rash! (Using disposable diapers, we had an almost weekly occurance of diaper rash...which led to use of rash ointment...which of course costs more money and I don't even like to use chemicals on my son!). I highly recommend the cloth wipes and a little spray bottle of water to clean baby bottoms, it does a better job, imo (in my opinion) and they are so much cheaper in the long run! Even if you don't go with cloth diapers, at least think about cloth wipes.

Another popular, but somewhat pricey in my opinion, is gdiapers, which have a flushable liner that you just put right in the toilet and you reuse the cover until dirty http://www.gdiapers.com/.

How about washing them? After they are dirty I have a bucket that I keep the wet diapers in, with no water or anything to soak. The dirty diapers you just hold over the toilet and the waste generally just falls into the toilet and you flush, then put those diapers in the pail. When you are ready to wash, simply do an initial load in cold water, with an extra cold rinse and a tiny amount of soap. Don't use fabric softener with cloth diapers because it can mess with the absorbancy. Then I start a load with soap, vinegar in the fabric softener compartment (or one of those fabric softener balls if you have one), and hot water wash with an extra cold rinse. (The vinegar helps balance the ph level). Here's a link for more details and ideas: http://nickisdiapers.com/pages/WashingInstructions.php

I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy cloth diapers are to use and wash. And I love it every time that I don't throw another disposable diaper into the trash. I know my mama was impressed by the new cloth diapers and I highly recommend that you look into cloth diapers for your little ones. Feel free to email me or comment with any questions or your own recommendations.